How I Spent My Holiday...

I stayed home, ate turkey, mustard and Swiss sandwiches on low-carb bread and leveled my Shammy to 72 and my DK to 65. I also performed the annual ritual Blessings Audit (y'know, "count your blessings and thank the gods you aren't in India right now getting hosed by terrorists"). I'm doing what I want to do, and if this seems "outside the norm" to folks 'cause it isn't something out of a Norm Rockwell painting, it's not my problem. It's that of the beholder. Kind of like beauty.

Working now, dressing (human leg wound kind, as opposed to the carb-laden kind served with the ritual holiday feast) change later, then THREE DAY WEEKEND, baby!

Methinks I'll go see the new movie Australia. Us 'Murican folks often forget that Pearl Harbor is not the only place that Imperial Japanese Navy bombed back in '41. Gurencia -- the Picasso painting -- can represent far too many places: Dresden, Coventry, Nanking, Hanoi, London, Berlin, Tokyo . . . .



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Now playing: U2 - Cold Turkey
via FoxyTunes

Pre-Helliday Thoughts, etc

Happy Fscking Hellidays!
Current annoyances:

1. Watching people who get more than ample time off the phones at work to do their required training beg like dogs for more because they have not spent the ample time they do have to complete training THEN whine to be "early-outed" -- sent home early to be with kith and kin -- because it is a holiday . . . while people like me who complete their training on time and within spec are "rewarded" by getting the opportunity to carry these no-load slugs' dead weight. Boy, do I feel incentivized!

2. I'm taking Saturday off. Friday's double time and I'm not missing that. Saturdays piss me off even more.

3. People who do not check the system requirements for software before installing it.

4. People who will not go to http://www.seananmcguire.com RIGHT THE HELL NOW and order her forthcoming album. Hanging's too damned good for 'em. You know who you are. From your IP I'll figure out where you live.

Just to prove I'm not a total sourpuss, there are some things I'm thankful for:

1. Looking for something for months, and finally finding it.
2. Gaining a cyber-stalker in WoW I *like* and does not creep me out.
3. The collective sense of the American people in electing the best of two very good candidates (Barack Hussein Obama) to be our 44th President.
4. Good healthcare.
5. Good work to do, albeit sometimes it annoys me.
6. Friends like mine -- Michelle, David, Matt, Seanan, Richard, Ralph, Sam, Duncan, Tim, Iz, Kate, Keegan, Mira, Brian, Rain, Equal and the rest of the gang in [Zealous] on Draka.

Welcome to the fscking Hell-i-day season!

I was enraged and outraged to the point of incandescent fury at work today, to the point where I almost got up from my desk and walked straight to HR to file a complaint.

My workplace is almost universally viewed as one where intolerance is not tolerated. People have been disciplined here for a wide variety of discriminatory or defamatory behaviors. Bigots simply do not last long here.

The issue concerned a "discussion" among my boss and coworkers dissing the variety of holidays other than Christmas and Thanksgiving. "All them other ones seem like that 'Festivus' they had on Seinfeld."

In other words, not quite real to them.

It took every ounce of self-control / self preservation I had to not leap out of my seat in sheer disgust and start ripping off necks. Interjecting myself into the conversation with chapter and verse on how the First Council of Nicea set Jeezuz' birfday to coincide with the Roman festival of the Unconquerable Sun (Sol Invictus), and that how virtually EVERY culture, historical as well as modern. celebrates this holiday seaon in one way or another . . .

I wanted to scream. WE are ALL celebrating the VERY SAME THING!!!!

The Return of the Sun / Light / Source of Light.

GET THE FSCK OVER YOURSELVES!

SotR 2008-08-28 (Health)

I've reached a milestone today with respect to my far-too-long battle with stasis ulcer wounds: I'm down to once a week dressing changes at last! This makes my treatment planning a lot simpler and frees up my days off for things other than medical stuff.

The weekend past was a swamp of existential angst. I'm not sure why that was so. The rent is paid, my roomie seems happy with me -- in large part because I pay the rent before the 1st. I'm getting enough sleep, I'm elevating my right leg, and I'm eating my fruits and veggies. So why did I do exactly nuthin' -- not even playing WoW -- all weekend?

Whatever put me in that shit mood, it's gone. I got a handle on it now; I think all I needed is some good alone time.

Tuesday at work started out blah, but got better. I finished strong. Wednesday was a lot better, Thursday was a cruise. I even made my weekly team meeting and said something that made my manager say "Great Idea, Rich!"
The monthly workgroup potluck -- an event I usually avoid -- was the cherry on the sundae that was My Day @ Work®.

Then again, this may well be the calm before the storm. Busy season, aka the start of the traditional academic calendar, starts next week.

It's also Republican National Convention week in Minneapolis. No teevee for me.

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Listening to: The Elders - True Believer
via FoxyTunes

Praise Teh Sacred Google!

This. Is. C00l.

The Discordian in me loves this kind of stuff. Eris and Google -- BFF!

Google's High Holy Day is September 14, the anniversary of the date the domain google.com was registered. And, it's just five days before another geek holiday, Talk Like A Pirate Day. A holiday devoted to the discovery of truth and good, not to mention pirates, is a perfect antidote to the annual beating around the head and shoulders with the proverbial bloody shirt every Sept 11.

Of course the Dungeon Master in me beat them to it awhile ago.


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Listening to: Seanan McGuire - Still Catch The Tide
via FoxyTunes

What Am I Thankful For?

A very partial list . . .

Physical: A great job, a roof over my head, enough cash to pay the bills, bandwidth and the means to use it.
Social: Mom, Dad, Ron, Sophia and Sam. Friends like Michelle, David, Kayla, Matt, Richard, Sammy, Duncan, Isabel, Tim, Kate, Sue, Rachael, Don, Rob, Kajir, Heather, Dave, Diane, Gene, Aries, Nika, Mystique, Harley, Rita, Bug, Shalyn and Hillary.
Other: An awesome health care team led by Dr. Nelson . . . the fact that the evil that is Shrub will be out of office in about a year . . . RT and e-Tran . . . PCJ and Panera . . .the music that helped save my life this year: Seanan McGuire, The Elders, Emerald Rose, Leslie Fish, James Blunt, Tempest, Escape Key, Flogging Molly, Roy Zimmerman, Loreena Mckinnett, Niel Young and Weird Al Yankovic.
Media: Serenity / Firefly, D&D, World of Warcraft.

"You work for the US Army? Merry Fscking Xmas!"

Just when you think the fscking bastard in the White House can sink no lower, he manage to do so . . .


This is the kind of thing the sole defense contractor I worked for half a lifetime ago did one year: a week before Christmas, they had guards armed with automatic pistols (these guys were normally unarmed . . . and they were contract guards, not the in-house security guys) and clipboards waiting one morning as employees as they walked in. If you checked in and were on the list you were sent to a "morning meeting" where the contents of your desk, your pink slip and even more guards were waiting. Not everyone was laid off; this method was supposed to stop the rumor mill from grinding on. What it did was point out what a bunch of dinks the management was there.

I don't know about you, but "retarded asshats" does not begin to describe this behavior.

On the other hand, when the last tech company I worked for sent my job to India, they did it *after* New Years' and they gave all of us the bad news. They even held a beer bash on the last day when they collected your badge. I hated being laid off, but the company went the extra mile in treating me like a human being.

Apparently, the gang in Washington will do ANYTHING to keep the mess in Iraq rolling. Just over a year till our long national nightmare ends . . .

SotR 2007-11-20

My cough is easing a bit but it is still not quite right. My doc says it cannot be allergens from the wolves here or I'd have reacted right away. She had the nurse take a culture of my throat. My right leg has three or four very small, shallow wounds left. The drainage is minimal.

On the lighter side, at least I've found a bus within walking distance of the house that runs on Sundays. Not only that, it also connects to the bus I need for work on Saturday! This is a big help, but the last bus from work still runs too early for me to use to get home. I am beginning to feel a bit housebound on Sundays when I don't game. Not to mention that I'd really like to see Beowulf.

/checks eTran schedule . . .

Nope, no way to get to either PCJ, but it looks like I may be able to make it it to Panera Bread on Howe on Sundays. Bus 56 to Meadowview Light Rail to Marconi Arcade and Bus 87 up Howe Ave. Just like my basic wound care run every Monday.

Slight change of direction here: you remember my rant about transit the other day? I received more unwanted insight into human sexuality today from one side of a too-loud cell phone call. What is it with you people? What transpires in bed between you and your partner(s) should be between you, them and the Gods. Why in the name of Freya do you have to talk about it so loudly that no passenger lacking headphones could avoid hearing about your happy times in the sack?

Don't get me wrong: I have NOTHING against sex. Consensual sex is nothing less than sacred. Nor is the annoyance from what I overheard the result of frustration in a guy who is currently not in a relationship. I'm annoyed at the sheer inappropriateness of having this conversation in a public place.

This week's going to be a fun one . . . hell-i-day off Thursday for Turkey Day, and Wednesday I get off at 4 or so, Finally, a day where I can catch the bus home without the quarter-mile "I hope I get there in time" walk! The geekend will be bizarre with Friday and Saturday being either very busy or kind of slow.

Happy 4th o' July!

1. Can you pass the test to become a US citizen?

I did...and no peeking on teh interweb either, on first try! I had it as a 13 year old and I have it still today!

2. Once again, KO nails it.

3. However, nobody "nailed it" as well as Tom and Company 231 years ago today in Philly.

Update on MB...

Happy Memorial Day!

I am posting this from work since my MB's in the shop.

As of Monday morning it looks like it is in testing. The optical drive and top case have been replaced. I'm expecting a phone call soon . . .

Arrrrggggghhh!

Memorial Day is fast approaching in the good ol' USA. In celebration of that holiday, my employer is holding a "Memorial Day Film Festival."

Now, being a vet, I'm all for celebrating Memorial Day. Americans often need to be reminded that blood and valor are the currency that purchases liberty, and to honor those who've paid for it on our behalf and in our name.

So far, so good. However, the "movies" that the events committee has selected make me want to gag: "Hogan's Heroes" . . . "Sgt. Bilko" . . . and "Gomer Pyle, USMC"

This is not a "TV makes RichO twitch" thing. It's the fact that Memorial Day is not about teh laugh track.

There are far, far better choices available . . . like the following:
Saving Private Ryan, Platoon, Flags of Our Fathers, The Killer Angels, Pearl Harbor, We Were Soldiers Once.